Washington Outlook: CAPITAL WRAPUP

CENSUS

Although the census numbers are officially final, the controversy is far from over. As in the past, cities are complaining that failure to pick up vast numbers of the inner-city poor will deprive urban areas of federal poverty-program money, which is based on census numbers. But the undercount could have other implications, too. Employment experts worry that the number of jobless black men may be underestimated because of flaws in census data. That's because monthly labor participation rates are based on a relatively small sample, which is then projected for the entire nation by using the flawed numbers. The Commerce Dept. will decide by July whether it needs to adjust its numbers for an undercount.